by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
By Archana Sharma,
Jaipur : From plastic straws to copper vessels, handmade lamps and bangles, Rajasthan’s leading hospitality players here are establishing new trends by engaging local artisans to showcase traditional artistry to guests and serving them locally-inspired cuisine amid green surroundings.
“We have initiated the use of paper-made straws; there is no use of plastic bags anywhere in the hotel property and the local-inspired food is being served to guests to ensure the locals have a regular source of income,” Binny Sebastian, General Manager, Bishangarh’s Alila Fort heritage hotel, some 50 km from here, told IANS.
Once a warrior fort, the management of the heritage property also engages the villagers in tasks like organic farming.
“Our association with the locals is quite strong. Working with them, we take our guests to the local temple. They also visit the artisans’ houses and sip tea there while watching them make pottery and weave carpet. In this way, we ensure that locals get a decent livelihood,” Sebastian added.
“We have started getting regular income since this property came up a year back. We have been showing our art to the guests here which gives us satisfaction as well as an income,” said Nizamuddin, a bangle maker.
Ashok S. Rathore, General Manager of the Rambagh Palace, said: “We have curtailed the use of plastic. There are no plastic straws being used on the property. We serve in glass bottles instead of plastic water bottles.”
This property is also adopting sustainable routes to ensure that the locals get decent income opportunities for their sustenance.
“Our interiors are reminiscent of handmade interiors. Our suites are adorned with Thikri art, a rare gold-dipped miniature artwork of Rajasthan. But skilled artists are disappearing and it comes with a high cost of production,” said Rathore.
Fairmont Jaipur has incorporated the fine craftsmanship and beauty of the local cultural heritage and artisans of Jaipur. The ceilings are hand-painted by local artisans with complex motifs.
“We associate with the local artisans to showcase their talent at the hotel in the form of the evening entertainment, the welcome experience and celebrate the local heritage of Rajasthan,” said Srijan Vadhera, General Manager, Fairmont Jaipur.
(Archana Charma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Jaipur : A total of 1,05,299 duplicate/fake voters appeared in Jaipur’s electoral rolls and all these have been deleted, said district collector Siddharth Mahajan on Saturday.
Congress had recently complained to the Election Commission demanding a probe into duplicate voters.
The state election department identified the duplicate names with the help of a software, sources said.
The software once installed starts recognising faces and names which are similar. It identifies 20 such people in a group which was highlighted in the Congress list. After reviewing its status, these were removed from electoral list, souces said.
The process of identifying duplicate voters will continue till September 20 and the right figure will be known after the process is over, said official sources.
Meanwhile, the duplicate/fake voter figure is 24,197 in Ajmer, 24,053 in Alwar, 32,886 in Banswara, 13,211 in Bara and 128 in Barmer. These names have also been deleted, said sources.
Mahajan informed that names of 1,05,299 names have been removed from voters list in 19 assembly constituencies in Jaipur while the process is on to resolve the objections received in the matter.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat and Election Commissioners, Sunil Arora and Ashok Lawasa, are making a two-day tour to Rajasthan on September 17-18 to monitor the preparations in the state for the forthcoming Assembly elections, said chief electoral officer Anand Kumar.
Assembly polls in the state are due later this year.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Jaipur/New Delhi : The body of a man was found hanging at Jaipur’s Nahargarh Fort on Friday with messages denouncing “Padmavati” scribbled on rocks nearby even as passions for and against the controversial film continued to rage.
While National Award winning actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and actress Rani Mukerji voiced distress over the violent rant against the film’s producer-director and actors, some people in New Delhi burnt filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s effigy outside a metro station.
However, there was some much-needed relief for Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL seeking an expert committee of historians and social activists to examine “Padmavati” to ensure there were no “distortions”, saying such “hopeless and misconceived” pleas were “encouraging” those agitating against the film.
Also, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee became the first Chief Minister to say she was ready to welcome the film and its crew — at a time when Chief Ministers of at least four other states have opposed the movie’s release.
Hindu groups backed by the BJP are up in arms against the movie over conjectures that it distorts history about Rajput queen Padmavati and Rajput culture.
Police in Jaipur said they were finding out whether the 40-year-old man’s death — his body was found on the outer walls of the Nahargarh Fort — had anything to do with the “Padmavati” row.
The message, scrawled on rocks nearby, read, “Hum putle nahin jalate… latkate hain” (We don’t burn effigies, we hang them).
“‘Padmavati’ ka virodh karne walon… Hum main hai dum.” (Those protesting against ‘Padmavati’ … We have guts)
Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyendra Singh told IANS that the dead man had been identified as Chetan Saini, a resident of Jaipur’s Shastri Nagar who ran a jewellery and handicrafts business.
Singh said it was not clear if it was murder or suicide and that it would be too early to relate the messages on the rocks to “Padmavati”.
The Rajput Karni Sena, which is most vocal against the movie, denied any involvement in the case.
“We express complete disapproval of it and deny our involvement in any manner,” Vivek Singh Shekhawat, the Rajasthan General Secretary of the group said.
The release of the Hindi film, earlier scheduled for December 1, has been deferred.
Bhansali continued to get the support of the film fraternity.
Prosenjit Chatterjee said “directors will stop doing historical films the way it has been handled”. Rani Mukerji said she stood by Bhansali: “He knows that I back him, love him. He is my darling and Sanjay truly believes how much I love him and he knows how I stand by him.”
—IANS
